14 week female..need help

[ecburt]

I can "Hear" the fustration in your writing, There really isn't any reason to give her up...listen to the advise you've been given...She sounds like she's full of piss and vinegar ....enjoying life as a puppy....exercise, exercise, and obedience will do wonders...

[BostonRott]

I would not call those "attacks" .... as in a dog who has faulty wiring in their head and needs to be put to sleep. I would call it typical puppy.

Keep a toy on you, such as a rope tug. As she comes to bite, redirect to the rope and play tug with her. If she's not interested in playing fetch (she's not returning items), then realize that and find another game. Not all dogs like to play fetch, my 10.5yr old male has ZERO interest in it, and never has.

Also, she's probably about to start teething and often just before they teethe, the mouthiness gets to be the worst.

The fact that she's not showing aggression to other people and dogs tells you that her temperament is fine and she's not going to go out and bite people for no reason (as you mentioned in your first post).

Puppies aren't always easy, but the rewards, when you work hard the way you are, are worth every ounce of sweat!

[MyPuppyDakota]

My puppy is roughly the same age and when i first got her she would lay on the ground and bark as if to "talk back" to me in a way when i gave her orders. She would also attempt to knip at my fingers when petting etc. The approach that i found worked was to intimidate her and show her who the "alpha" dog is (YOU!) lol....what i did was literally walk right up to her and look down at her and scold her for her behaviour...similar to what dogs do to each other to intimidate. You will find that the dog will obviously have to look up at you which shows them the obvious size difference between the two of you. As for the knipping...i find a flick to the snout followed by "no biting" or a similar command gets the point across...of course this will have to be repeated several times.

I hope these tricks work for you as they did for me...The females CAN really be bitches (no pun intended!)

[kayozzy]

It sounds as if she has made her own kind of game out of fetch. You throw, she waits, you go get it, she goes to get you! Lots of fun for her. So, what you have to do is make it not fun. If she isn't playing fetch, find another game or try a different toy to chase.

If a dog doesn't naturally play fetch, you can teach them by starting really close to you. Sit down and roll the ball around and try to get her excited about it. If she starts to go for you instead, stop what you are doing, say NO in a low, stern voice, and ignore her until she settles again. She will want you to sit back down to play again, so she will learn that naughty behavior makes the playing stop.

Go back to rolling the ball around, if she is interested in it, let her grab it and then try to get her to give it back to you. Get up and run away from her talking excitedly if you have to. Make sure you have something with you to trade for it. A treat or another ball, so that she learns to release the ball. This is a great way to teach "drop it" at the same time.

I hope this gives you an idea of how to teach fetch and teach her that her game is not what you want to play. Puppies are full of spunk and it takes a lot more patience than people think it will. Also remember redirection for other times she gets feisty and starts chewing on people. Always carry a toy to give her when she starts nipping and praise like you've never seen any puppy be so good when she chews on the correct things.

Use the "trump up the toybox" method to help prevent her from learning to chew on incorrect items. I used a plastic bin, and you hide treats in there. When she starts getting feisty, go over to the toybox with her and help her search for goodies. Preferably inside a toy like a peanut butter filled kong or something like that. She will learn to look in there herself when she wants something to chew on.

With a real spunky puppy like you have, flicks, holding them down, swats, etc. all have the opposite effect. (As you've noticed) These kind of puppies have to have positive training methods and you will always have to be calm to prevent her behavior from escalating. A low, stern tone is the only correction my pup would listen to. My sister would yell occasionally, and I would point out how well that DIDN't work. I'd tell her to say "no" in a low tone, and then walk away and ignore him until he was being calm.

If your patience is worn out and you can't deal with it, it is time for the crate until everyone is calm again. Put her in there on a positive note with a treat or a good girl in her crate. She won't relate being put in the crate to her behavior and you never want her to think going to her crate is bad, so don't try to use it as a punishment like you would for a child in time out. They can't think about what they did. It is just for calming down.

Keep up the good work and remember you have many months of various challenges ahead of you!